Book Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love
by Lauren Kate

Genre: YA Romance / Paranormal / Angels

Ages: 15 and up

I received an advance e-copy of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Description:

What makes your heart race a little faster? It's FALLEN IN LOVE, four wholly original and romantic new stories collected in a novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. FALLEN IN LOVE gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of FALLEN characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles , Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda.

My Thoughts:

I have enjoyed the Fallen series, though they are not my favorite books, and Passion was my favorite of the lot, so I figured I would enjoy this collection of stories set during Passion. After reading them all, my impression could be summed up with a shrug. There wasn't anything to keep you on the edge of your seat and the stories were a little stilted and predictable. Roland and Arriane's stories give you a little bit of insight into their personalities and past, but not a lot.

Love Where You Least Expect It, Shelby and Miles' story, was rather sweet and shy as the two of them finally get together. While their romance was kind of cute, the story itself was kind of dull. There were several opportunities for them to get into uncomfortable and entertaining situations, but they always fizzled out.

Love Lessons, Roland's tale, was probably my favorite of the lot. He goes to see the woman he loved and lost, only to find her already happily married and in danger of losing her husband to the crusades. Roland is left with a choice to either help him on his way to death or protect his love's future happiness.

Burning Love, Arriane's valentine, is a story of forbidden love between an angel and one of Lucifer's demons. I found it to be a little disjointed and confusing, which lessened the intended emotional impact.

Endless Love was a typical chapter of Daniel and Lucinda's ongoing romance. Since it is one that takes place in medieval times, they cannot be together yet so it is a little sad, but not too sad because you already know what happens in Fallen, Torment and Passion. I liked the masquerade but other than that there really wasn't anything special.

This collection gets a solid meh from me. If you have read the other books in the series, it is worth borrowing but nothing else. I found myself thinking that the gorgeous cover was the best part of the book.
 

Rating System: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme).

Profanity:
I rate it a 2.10 for a couple of mild swearwords.

Sexuality:
I give it a 2.10 for mild sexuality including caresses and kisses.

Violence:
I rate it a 6.10 for near suicide and a brief fight.

                             Lieder Madchen